per code it seems OK.

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Ponchik

Ponchik

Senior Member
Location
CA
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Electronologist
Last week i saw (2) quad breakers with the centers of each tied together, (good so far), but the installer had tied breaker 3b&5a using an approved breaker tie. It just didn't seem OK but could not find a code reference. Any thoughts? These breakers were not the actual breakers.

Thanks

e0ed5637-a34c-437a-b2fa-d70f401d7414_4.jpg<<<(3b) was tied to (5a)>>> e0ed5637-a34c-437a-b2fa-d70f401d7414_4.jpg
 
You're saying that one quad was installed on 1 and 3 and the other on 5 and 7?

I'm struggling to find anything wrong with it.
 
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The two inner handles or the outer handles or both are a common breaker offered by many manufactures out there, you will find them very common in most manufacture housing (trailers) and around here even our Menard's sell them, as long as the panel is CTL listed and the breakers are in a CTL space on the buss bar there is nothing in the NEC that prevents the use of such breakers.
 
I too am confused in the 3a and 5b tie, are we talking a quad installed in the 3/5 space? as then these numbers will reference the inner two handles and most likely are a common trip from the manufacture, in the same position a handle tie of 3a to 5b (outer two handles) can also be a common trip, but if your saying that there is a quad in space 1/3 and one in space 5/7 then tyeing the handles would not provide a common trip, which may or may not be a violation depending upon the load?
 
It sounds like the OP is saying that the bottom lever from the top breaker was tied to the top lever of the bottom breaker. Im not sure about the US, but in Canada it is not allowed to use your own methods to make a tie breaker.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
I think Masterinbama has what the OP saw. Not an issue but it would not be common trip.
Click to expand...

You can get them with both inside two pole common trip and outside two pole common trip, most which are design as a two pole inside are common trip, many do come with two single poles outside as in the first photos, but CH does offer as does SQ-D and ITE quads with both inside and outside common trip:

Check out page 1-11 in this PDF or page 13 as adobe shows it, table 1-15 shows both common trip and independent trip configurations

Click here

I have found both installed in trailers
 
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I don't see any issue with it as long as a common trip is not required for the outer poles. I have tied multiple side by side tandem breakers together many times.
 
curt swartz said:
I don't see any issue with it as long as a common trip is not required for the outer poles. I have tied multiple side by side tandem breakers together many times.
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So as long as it is a common disconnect it should be OK??

As I stated in my earlier post, I can't see any code violation with it but I thought I better ask the forum just to be sure.
 
If you are using it for a multiwire branch circuit I see no problem but if you will connect a 208 or 240 line a simultaneous trip is required!!!!
 
Dennis Alwon said:
I think Masterinbama has what the OP saw. Not an issue but it would not be common trip.
Click to expand...

Dennis Alwon said:
Again they are not common trip installed as shown so for a mwbc that would be code compliant.
Click to expand...

From the above post I thought you were saying that the outside handles would never be a common trip like in that they didn't make them, so that was the reason for my post.

And yes in the way they installed the tie it can't be a common trip, but like others said, no different then installing two single poles and putting a tie between them;)
 
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